The pub chain Wetherspoons is planning to massively increase jobs as it invests hundreds of millions in its boozers – especially in Britain’s smaller towns.

Wetherspoons is planning to spend more than £200million on new and existing pubs over the next four years.

The pub chain is investing the cash developing new branches and hotels as well as enlarging existing pubs.

As a result, it said 10,000 new jobs would be created.

Wetherspoons founder Tim Martin said: “We are looking forward to opening many more new pubs as well as investing in existing pubs over the next four years.

“We are especially pleased that a large proportion of the investment will be in smaller towns and cities which have seen a decline in investment in recent years.

“The fact that we will be creating approximately 10,000 jobs is great news too.”

These are set to include new pubs in Bourne in Lincolnshire; Waterford in Ireland; Hamilton in Scotland; Ely in Cambridgeshire; Diss in Norfolk; Felixstowe in Suffolk; Newport Pagnell in Buckinghamshire; and Prestatyn in North Wales.

But Wetherspoons is also putting money into some larger towns and cities.

Major cities with new facilities coming include London, Dublin, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Birmingham, Leeds and Galway.

Wetherspoon operates 875 pubs and 58 hotels across the UK and Republic of Ireland and employs 44,000 staff.